Blinken Invites UN to Investigate ‘Contemporary Forms of Racism’ in US

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is inviting United Nations officials to investigate systemic racism in the United States amid a dispute with China about whether international monitors can probe the atrocities against Uyghur Muslims. {snip}

“The United States intends to issue a formal, standing invitation to all UN experts who report and advise on thematic human rights issues,” Blinken announced late Tuesday. “As a first step, we have reached out to offer an official visit by the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism and the UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues.”

Blinken issued that invitation as the diplomats and U.N. officials in Geneva agreed to establish “an international independent expert mechanism” to investigate police discrimination against people of African descent globally. The international discussion of George Floyd’s death this week coincided with a State Department report detailing China’s atrocities against the Uyghurs, which the U.S. has identified as a genocide.

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A senior Chinese diplomat responded by touting the new U.N. report on racism and pointed to historic racial discrimination in the U.S. to deflect the criticism of China’s treatment of the Uyghurs.

“The U.S. should not forget the innocent African American lives taken by the brutal Tulsa race massacre 100 years ago,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said, according to a transcript. {snip}

The language of Blinken’s announcement raises the likelihood that U.S. officials will cite his invitation to U.N. investigators as a way to sharpen their rebukes of China’s refusal to permit outside access to Xinjiang.

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“On the global stage, the United States is leading by example,” he said. “Responsible nations must not shrink from scrutiny of their human rights record; rather, they should acknowledge it with the intent to improve. I urge all UN member states to join the United States in this effort, and confront the scourge of racism, racial discrimination, and xenophobia.”